Apparatus for slitting cartons



Jan. 1956 A. J. WAHL ETAL APPARATUS FOR SLITTING CARTONS Filed Feb. 8, 1954 INVENTORS A lber' J Walzl. Cfiefi/esfl. Z a (22 or/n4). a 9/7; 41 mm United States Patent 2,729,885 APPARATUS non SLITTING CARTGNS Albert J.'Wa11], Portland, and Charles .A. Lanz, Brocton, N. Y., assignors to A. J. Wahl, Ind, Brocton, N. Y., a corporation of New York ApplicationFebruary 8, 1954, Serial No. 408,776

10 Claims. (Cl. 30-2) This invention relates to apparatus for slitting cartons. It .has to do with means for separating a carton or-box winto plural parts so that each :part may, if desired, be provided with a closure for the open side to form a complete but smaller carton.

:In the 'packaging of fancy fruit, such as select tomatoes, the items are carefully arranged in several layers in a carton or box at the packing plant. When a ship- :ment reaches the commission house, samples of the shipment are often taken by ripping open cartons to inspect the contents. This leaves the cartons in damaged condition and the "contents partly exposed and downtgrades the entire package. It is not uncommon for a commission house, or some other handler along the line 'to sell less than single carton quantities or smaller cartons and to do this requires removal of the fruit from the original carton and transfer to another container with consequent additional expense for extra carttons and handling.

One object of thiswinvention is to reduce the number of actual handlings of the merchandise between :processor and consumer.

. Another object is to provide for the reduction of a carton or box from a single unit to two or more units in rapid, economical tfashion.

Anothertobject'is to eliminate the need for rippingopen teartons for'display, inspection or other purposes andto provide for :making complete, lidded units of smaller .tsizeufrom single .unit layer cartons.

.In accordance with this invention, .we propose to provide .a support .for a carton on which the carton rests during the operation. Arranged at predetermined points and levels are slitting implements located so as to penetrate the material of which the carton is made and cleanly cut the same in two incident to relative movement between the canton and implements. The movement may be occasioned by moving the carton relative to the slitting implements, the slitting implements relative to the carton or both of them relative to one another. After the carton has been cut, for instance into two halves, a new top, made to fit the open side of each half of the original carton can be fitted in place to make each a complete unit that can be sealed and used as a shipping container. In the meantime, the two halves can remain open for inspection or display until moved.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view showing the preferred embodiment of our invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the right hand side of the apparatus.

Figure 3 is a detail in elevation showing a slitter assembly.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a packing case.

Figures 5 and 6 are perspective views showing how one packing carton can be converted into two smaller size packing cartons.

With reference to the drawings, 1 and 1' are a pair 2,729,335 Patented Jan. 10, 1956 of A frames for supporting a roller conveyor having gravity rollers 3 journaled in frame angles 2 and on which boxes or cartons A to be subdivided are moved from place to place. While we have shown a gravity roller conveyor for purposes of illustration, .a conven tional power driven roller or belt type conveyor could be employed.

The box cutters which are grouped in pairs and the pairs located at spaced points along the conveyor comprise a bar 4, Figure 1 (right hand end of conveyor) which is clamped to the horizontal web of the frame angle 2 by a clamp plate 5 which is bolted down. ,In and out adjustment of the cutter assembly relative to the frame is provided .by a series of bolt holes enabling relocation of the clamp plate 5.

Welded to the plate 4 in upright position is a sleeve 6 which is bored to fit a rod 7 to which a set collar 17 is attached above the sleeve to hold the rod against downward movement. Below the plate is another .set collar 8 attached to the rod to preventupward displacement. By loosening both set collars and moving the rod up or down, the cutting plane of the cutter can be varied.

The lower set collar 8 has a lever 9 secured thereto to which .a coil spring 10 is fastened. The other end of this spring is connected to the lever of the opposite cutter so as to pull both in toward each other for a purpose to :be presently described. A cutter carrier in the form of a flat bar 11 is fixed to the top of each rod 7 so as to turn therewith. At the free end of the bar 11 is mounted a single anti-friction roller 12 and double anti-friction rollers 15 and 16 arranged to rotate in -a horizontal plane.

The cutting element 13, Figures 1 and 2, sometimes called slitter, here shown as an edged triangularshaped blade but which could be of other forms, is clamped between the lever .11 and a clamp bar 20 with the points of opposite blades l3aand 13 facing toward each other. The clamp .bar 20, Figure 3, is drilled to fit the vroller shafts .21 and 22 and is backed by washers 23 on the .upper roller side. Thus when the nuts 24 are tightened the bar will be drawn down on the cutter to hold it in position without affecting the free rotation of the rollers or wheels 12, 15, and 16.

A stop bolt 14 on each plate 4 determines the innermost position to which opposing cutters may swing.

In Figure 1, we have shown .two sets of cutter assemblies, each set comprising two oppositely disposed cutter assemblies, :one set being 'spaced from the other. At the right end of the conveyor which we will call the loading end, there are two cutter assemblies, one .hav-

.ing .a cutter blade 13 and the other a .cutter blade 113a.

These assemblies are mounted on the conveyor frame in such position as to provide a given clearance between blade tips when the cutters are at rest. This adjustment is such that, for a given width of carton A, the cutters will penetrate and cut through the wall of a carton as it is moved therebetween. Ordinarily the cuts along opposite sides of the carton are made at the same level, here shown as approximately midway between top and bottom so as to provide for equally divided upper and lower carton sections.

When a carton is pushed forward between the cutter assemblies, the rollers, 12, 15, and 16 of each assembly engage and center the box and they are held thereagainst by spring 10 which provides a yielding pressure for the cutter elements and causes them to penetrate and cut through the carton as it is moved relative thereto. The carton may be moved by hand, or if the conveyor is powered, it will be carried between the cutters by the conveyor proper.

After the lengthwise cut is made along opposite sides of the box, it is turned 90 and moved between cutters 18 and 18a each of which forms a part of a cutter assembly like that previously described. These cutters are arranged at the same level as the primary cutters but are spaced farther apart because they operate on the ends, rather than the sides of the box. After the carton is moved through the secondary set of cutters, the carton will have been cut in two and may be separated into two sections A and A Figures 5 and 6 and lids or tops B and B respectively may be provided for the sections thereby to form two cartons of smaller capacity from one larger carton.

In the following claims, the Word box is used generically to cover boxes, cartons or other types of packages which come within this category.

While we have described the conveyor as being the means for moving a carton from place to place it is entirely possible to mount the cutters for movement relative to the carton to perform the cutting operation.

We claim: 7

1. In apparatus of the class described, a box support on which the box is movably mounted, a pair of slitters arranged on opposite sides of the box for cutting the box in two lengthwise, a pair of slitters arranged on opposite sides of the box for cutting the box in two crosswise, and means for exerting a yielding pressure on said slitters when in engagement with the box to hold the slitters in cutting engagement with the box as the box is moved between them.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a box support on which the box is movably mounted, a pair of cutting implements arranged on opposite sides of the box for cutting the box in two lengthwise, a pair of cutting implements arranged on opposite sides of the box for cutting the box in two crosswise, a support for each cutter having means for adjusting the position of the cutting implement relative to the box and means for holding each cutting implement in engagement with the box as the box is moved relative thereto to perform a cutting operation.

3. Carton cutting apparatus comprising a carrier on which a carton is disposed for cutting operation, a plurality of cutting elements arranged adjacent said carrier and on opposite sides thereof and in position to cut the carton at various points and means for moving the carrier and cutting elements, one relative to the other to cut the carton.

4. Carton cutting apparatus comprising a carrier on which a carton is disposed for cutting operations, a plurality of cutting elements arranged adjacent said carrier in position to cut the carton along the sides, a plurality of cutting elements arranged adjacent said carrier in position to cut the carton along the ends and means for moving the carrier and cutting elements relative to one another to cut the carton, said carton being turned between cutting operations.

5. In apparatus for slitting cartons, a conveyor for 4 carrying a carton from place to place, a pair of spaced cutters attached to the conveyors spaced so as to slit the carton on opposite sides, resilient means for applying cutting pressure to the cutters and guide rollers for centering the carton as it passes between the cutters.

6. In apparatus for slitting cartons, a conveyor for carrying a carton from place to place, two groups of cutter assemblies mounted on said conveyor, each group comprising a pair of oppositely disposed cutting elements arranged at a level and in position to cut first along the ends and then the sides or vice versa of the carton as it passes therethrough.

7. Carton cutting apparatus comprising a conveyor on which a carton can be moved from place to place, a plurality of carton cutters adjacent said conveyor and arranged to cut the carton at various points as the carton is moved relative thereto and means for adjusting the position of the cutters relative to the work. 7

8. Carton cutting apparatus comprising a conveyor having a frame provided with gravity rollers 'for'supporting a carton to be cut in two, a pair of carton cutter assemblies clamped to the conveyorframe and arranged on opposite sides thereof, a cutting element associated with each cutter assembly and arranged at a level above the carrying surface of the conveyor and in position to cut along opposite sides of a carton when the carton is moved therebetween and means for applying carton cutting pressure to the cutters to cause them to penetrate and cut the carton.

9. Carton cutting apparatus comprising a conveyor having a frame provided with gravity roller for supporting a carton to be cut in two, a pair of carton cutter assemblies clamped to the conveyor frame and arranged on opposite sides thereof, a cutting element associated with each cutter assembly and arranged at a level above the carrying surface of the conveyor and in position to out along opposite sides of a carton when the carton is moved therebetween and means for applying carton cutting pressure to the cutters to cause them to penetrate and cut the carton, and a second pair of cutter assemblies clamped to the frame and spaced from the first pair and arranged to cut the carton in another area.

10. Carton cutting apparatus comprising a conveyor having a frame, primary and secondary sets of spring pressed cutters attached to the conveyor frame to form two sets of oppositely disposed cutters arranged to cut a carton in two after making a pass through each set of cutters and means for adjusting the sets of cutters relative to one another to vary the clearance therebetween and consequently the size of the carton which may be accommodated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,632,945 Newbold Mar. 31, 1953 

